Poll: Favorite James Bond film

Thunderball, License to Kill not far behind

 

View attachment 341623
Great Christmas'69.

 

Hard to believe Gold Finger got that many votes, didn't think it was that great.

 

It was the definitive for a few decades as the best Bond movie, though Daniel Craig's CR has overtaken it. For endless repeat viewings prefer Peter Hunt's Bond.

 

I spent some time last night trying to watch the trailers for each of the Bond films (in sequence).

I say "try" because my family went crazy and made me stop watching them just as I was getting up to the Timothy Dalton years.

Comments on this exercise:

1.) Most of the trailers were remarkably similar... like each one pretty much used previous trailers as a blueprint.
I loved the comments about Bond being a "gentlemen agent" (a phrase that I've never heard before).

2.) I was (pleasantly) surprised to hear the 1962 twangy guitar instrumental being used for each trailer way past the point
where it was (prominently) featured in the films.

3.) "Moonraker" clearly suffered from Star Wars envy.

4.) The George Lanzby film trailer touted a "different" Bond... only to be quickly followed by the return of Connery where
the trailer had to reverse course and tout the return of the more well known actor.

5.) I guess Telly Savalas' version of Blofeld was the source on inspiration for Dr. Evil in the Mike Myers movies.

 

Donald Pleasance, the only Blofeld with the scar copied by Dr. Evil.

 

I suppose if I were forced to vote I'd choose Goldfinger, as it largely became the blueprint for all the Bonds to come afterward, though the previous two are certainly classic films.

After that, my faves include:

Diamonds Are Forever
Lie And Let Die
For Your Eyes Only
GoldenEye
Casino Royale

 

Octopussy...
The only James Bond film I paid to see twice.

 

Diamonds Are Forever. Great song, great plot, lots of action and humor. Way to go out Sean. The only downside is the predictable ending of big explosions and narrow escapes.

The worst was the horrible Man with the Golden Gun. Nothing about that one was good except the beautiful islands.

 

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The Lazarus Effect, The Avenger & Kojak.

 

Has everyone forgotten about The Living Daylights? Very underrated Bond flick, it has possibly the best car chase in the series, and it finds a nice balance between realism and camp.

 

Still the best looking sixties Bond film. View attachment 342759

 

I found it tough to pick a favorite but went with OHMSS. I think a better poll might be which is your favorite Bond film for each actor playing the role since the tone of the films does change substantially with each casting and the era in which they were made. Of course my top film pick's Bond only got to do it once, but I think Mr. Lazenby did a fine job. However I believe that if Sean Connery had done OHMSS, it would likely be the majority pick. The tragic ending would have been even more devestating if it included the actor who had created and defined the role in all of the films to date.

 

From Russia With Love

Great to see that it's at #2

Goldfinger may be the most iconic Bond movie but the story is kinda weak ... especially getting ***** Galore on his side by a kiss ... "Oh James" ... come on

 

I've loved the Bond films since I was a kid so I am very forgiving in that I still enjoy even the weaker films.

The only three that I did not enjoy on any level are A View To a Kill, Tomorrow Never Dies and Never Say Never Again.

 

Very surprised that Octopussy is the 2nd most popular Moore flick, not that I don't like it...just would not have ever thought it would be #2.

For Your Eyes Only is my fave, then Casino Royale, then Russia.

Honestly I love all of them, the restored Blu-rays are an absolute gem to own.

Actually scratch that, I do not love Quantum of Solace and hope Marc Forster never touches a Bond camera again, the ridiculously over-aggressive non-first person POV stuff doesn't belong in a 007 film, it makes me angry just thinking about it. Shame because it kind of looks like there were some great stunt sequences in QoS but none of us can see them because a) the shot is always shaky and b) no shot lasts for longer than 0.5s.

 

Casino Royale

 

I really like Live and Let Die. Voodoo stuff is cool.

 

GOLDFINGER! I like Alotta Fagina...

 

Mike Myers showed EON Productions why they had to grow up ... although they were slow to catch on.

This still zeroes in on what the reboot is really about:

 

Sean Connery defined Bond.
Daniel Craig made him cool again.
Casino Royal (DC) is still not dated, with parkour stunts, and screen chemistry with Green&Craig.
Saying that OHMSS still delivers for a 46 year old movie. Biggest appeal is the soundtrack, female lead, and George Lazenby ..sort of macho dumbed down Cary Grant.

 

Forgive me disagreeing, but I find Daniel Craig obnoxious, irritating and totally uncool. He is the least cool of all the actors to undertake the role. His M. follows him around the globe, excoriating him for not being a woman, teaching him spycraft along the way and how to be a kinder, gentler man. Craig acquits himself well and carries each film like the star he is, yet he remains mis-cast from the get-go.

 

I don't think so. Again, forgive me for being disagreeable, but Pierce Brosnan was hugely popular, and his last outing was a big hit even though everyone realized the film wasn't very good. It made money. The decision to reboot was a creative one, not a financial one. See, James Bond is a cultural event like the Superbowl or the Olympics. EON and the studio distributors know that millions of ticket buyers will pay to see the event without knowing in advance how it will turn out. Audiences know it will be a crowd pleaser and that's enough to put them in the seats. James Bond the character is the star attraction, like Tarzan or Frankenstein, not the actor who plays him. That having been said, I find that audiences are getting so credulous that if EON Productions stuck an ice cream stick up a dead cat's bum, dressed it in a tux and called it 007 most fans would defend it's casting to the death.

 

Can't argue with this.

 

Right; this is what I've been saying for years.If Sean Connery had starred in OHMSS, it would be hailed as the very best Bond film; it's simply amazing.
One day, when CGI will allow some major changes, we may see Connery's face superimposed on Lazenby's one